Ratatouille Grilled Cheese

A Ratatouille Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a great way to increase your family’s veggie intake while still offering them a buttery, rich, cheesy sandwich. The herbed dressing adds tons of flavor!

Comfort food, to me, is a buttery, crispy grilled cheese sandwich. Who doesn’t love that? Technically, this sandwich is a ‘melt’ rather than grilled cheese because of the veggies, but a ‘Ratatouille Melt’ didn’t sound as good. 

Even though this is a melt, the sandwich, layered with roasted vegetables, can still be dipped into a steaming bowl of soup or paired with a salad.

What Is Ratatouille?

Ratatouille is a hearty and flavorful, summer vegetable stew that originated in Nice, France. It’s usually made up of eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, tomato, onion, and garlic. You’ll often find it served with a simple green salad, boiled potatoes, or polenta.

Ratatouille Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This sandwich is pure comfort food. With gooey cheese, buttery, crisp sourdough bread, tender, fresh veggies, and a homemade dressing that is full of garlic, herbs, and red wine vinegar, this sandwich will satisfy your veggie haters as well as those with big appetites.

Ingredients Needed

This looks like a long list, but most of the items you probably already have on hand.

• Kosher salt and pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Dijon mustard
• Garlic cloves
• Eggplant – use Italian eggplant that isn’t too big. The bigger the eggplant, the more seeds it will have.
• Zucchini
• Yellow squash
• Sweet onion
• Plum tomatoes
• Roasted red peppers – you can use either the bottled peppers or roast and peel a fresh one.
• Basil and oregano – I like using fresh when I can find it, but dried works as well.
• Thick sliced sourdough bread – try to use the fresh, crusty bread found in the bakery section of your grocery for the best results.
• Provolone cheese – smoked or unsmoked, it’s your choice. You could also use mozzarella, gruyere, or even cheddar.

Tips For Making This Recipe

• Take the time to make the dressing. It adds a freshness that highlights the flavors of the vegetables in a way that bottled dressing can’t.
• Try to slice your vegetables so they are all the same thickness and will roast evenly.
• Remove the vegetables from the oven as they become tender and a little caramelized around the edges instead of waiting until all of the vegetables are tender. The onions will take longer than the zucchini. You don’t want the zucchini overdone and mushy or the onions still crisp.
• Be sure to use enough cheese to cover the bread fully. This will prevent the bread from becoming soggy from the vegetables and give the sandwich a beautiful, gooey cheese layer that you expect from grilled cheese.
• Don’t skimp on the butter! The butter is what will give the bread the buttery, golden, crisp crust.
• If the outside of your sandwich is perfectly golden brown and crisp, but the cheese isn’t melted and the vegetables are not hot, your pan is too hot. If this happens, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook the sandwich, flipping it often until the cheese is melted and the veggies are hot.

How To Make This Recipe

1. Make the dressing. Start by mashing the garlic and salt together to get a paste.
2. Mix the paste with the other ingredients and set aside.
3. Salt the sliced vegetables to pull out the excess moisture. Rinse and pat dry.
4. Brush the dressing on the vegetables, and roast in the oven until tender.
5. Butter one side of each slice of bread.
6. Layer 4 slices of bread in a large skillet over medium heat.
7. Layer the cheese on top to fully cover the bread.
8. Top with the roasted vegetables, drizzling them with the dressing after each layer.
9. Place another layer of cheese on top and add the remaining bread slices, butter side up.
10. Cook in a large skillet until golden brown and crispy.

More Recipes Like This One

• Ratatouille Casserole
• Roasted Vegetable Sandwich
• Monte Cristo Sandwich
• Classic Patty Melt